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Why Southern Co. (SO) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

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Southern Co. (SO - Free Report) closed at $93.26 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.41% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.43%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.09%.

Shares of the power company witnessed a gain of 2.69% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Utilities sector with its loss of 0.73%, and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 4.37%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Southern Co. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on July 31, 2025. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.99, indicating a 9.17% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.76 billion, up 4.66% from the year-ago period.

SO's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.28 per share and revenue of $28.47 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +5.68% and +6.52%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southern Co. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% lower. Southern Co. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Southern Co. is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.51. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 17.88 for its industry.

We can additionally observe that SO currently boasts a PEG ratio of 3.29. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Utility - Electric Power industry stood at 2.59 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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